Justus Mühlenpfordt
Encyclopedia
Justus Mühlenpfordt was a German
nuclear physicist. He received his doctorate from the Technische Hochschule Carolo-Wilhelmina zu Braunschweig, in 1936. He then worked in Gustav Hertz’s laboratory at Siemens
. In 1945, he was sent to Institute G, near Sukhumi
and under the directorship of Hertz, to work on the Soviet atomic bomb project
. Released from Russia, Mühlenpfordt arrived in East Germany in 1955. He was appointed director of the Institut für physikalische Stofftrennung of the Academy of Sciences, in Leipzig
. From 1969 until his retirement in 1974, Mühlenpfordt was director of the Forschungsbereiches Kern- und Istopentechnik der Akademie.
and university professor, and his mother, Anna Dräger-Mühlenpfordt, was a painter
and graphic designer
. Anna was the daughter of Henry Dräger, founder of Drägerwerk AG
. Carl was a professor at the Technische Hochschule Carolo-Wilhelmina zu Braunschweig (in the late 1960s or early 1970s, reorganized and renamed the Technische Universität Braunschweig) and a practicing architect.
. Among other things, Mühlenpfordt’s research activities involved x-ray
s; an x-ray tube
with a cross-shaped anode
was named after him. Hertz conducted research activities in isotope separation
, which effected Mühlenpfordt’s career interests.
, director of his private laboratory Forschungslaboratoriums für Elektronenphysik, Gustav Hertz, Nobel laureate and director of Research Laboratory II at Siemens
, Peter Adolf Thiessen
, ordinarius professor at the Humboldt University of Berlin
and director of the Kaiser-Wilhelm Institut für physikalische Chemi und Elektrochemie in Berlin-Dahlem
, and Max Volmer
, ordinarius professor and director of the Physical Chemistry Institute at the Berlin Technische Hochschule
, had made a pact. The pact was a pledge that whoever first made contact with the Russians would speak for the rest. The objectives of their pact were threefold: (1) Prevent plunder of their institutes, (2) Continue their work with minimal interruption, and (3) Protect themselves from prosecution for any political acts of the past. Before the end of World War II
, Thiessen, a member of the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei, had Communist contacts. On 27 April 1945, Thiessen arrived at von Ardenne’s institute in an armored vehicle with a major of the Soviet Army, who was also a leading Soviet chemist. All four of the pact members were taken to the Soviet Union along with colleagues from their institutes. Hertz was made head of Institute G, in Agudseri (Agudzery), about 10 km southeast of Sukhumi
and a suburb of Gul’rips (Gulrip’shi). Topics assigned to Gustav Hertz’s Institute G included: (1) Separation of isotopes by diffusion in a flow of inert gases, for which Gustav Hertz was the leader, (2) Development of a condensation pump, for which Justus Mühlenpfordt was the leader, (3) Design and build a mass spectrometer for determining the isotopic composition of uranium, for which Werner Schütze was the leader, (4) Development of frameless (ceramic) diffusion partitions for filters, for which Reinhold Reichmann was the leader, and (5) Development of a theory of stability and control of a diffusion cascade, for which Heinz Barwich
was the leader; Barwich had been deputy to Hertz at Siemens. Other members of Institute G were Werner Hartmann
, Werner Schütze and Karl-Franz Zühlke. Von Ardenne was made head of Institute A, in Sinop, a suburb of Sukhumi
. Volmer went to the Nauchno-Issledovatel’skij Institut-9 (NII-9, Scientific Research Institute No. 9), in Moscow; he was given a design bureau to work on the production of heavy water
. In Institute A, Thiessen became leader for developing techniques for manufacturing porous barriers for isotope separation.
After Mühlenpfordt’s successful work at Institute G, he became chief of a design bureau in Leningrad, no earlier than 1950.
In preparation for release from the Soviet Union, it was standard practice to put personnel into quarantine for a few years if they worked on projects related to the Soviet atomic bomb project. Mühlenpfordt spent his quarantine at a facility in Agudzery (Agudseri), as did other German scientists. Additionally, in 1954, in preparation sending the German scientists to the Deutsche Demokratische Republik (DDR, German Democratic Republic), the DDR and the Soviet Union prepared a list of scientists they wished to keep in the DDR, due to their having worked on projects related to the Soviet atomic bomb project; this list was known as the “A-list”. On this A-list were the names of 18 scientists; nine, possibly 10, of the names were associated with the Nikolaus Riehl
group which worked at Plant No. 12 in Ehlektrostal'
(Электросталь). Mühlenpfordt was on the list.
; in 1964, the institute was renamed the Institut für stabile Isotope (Institute for Stable Isotopes). In 1960, he was also appointed a professor of the Academy of Sciences. In 1968, he was additionally appointed Beauftragter (Representative) of the Academy of Sciences.
From 1969 until his retirement in 1974, Mühlenpfordt was director of the Forschungsbereiches Kern- und Istopentechnik der Akademie der Wissenschaften (Research Division for Nuclear and Isotope Technology of the Academy of Sciences); the organization was later renamed the Forschungsbereich Kernwissenschaften der Akademie der Wissenschaften (Nuclear Science Research Division of the Academy of Sciences), and still later renamed the Forschungsbereich Physik der Akademie der Wissenschaften (Physics Research Division of the Academy of Sciences).
Upon his retirement, Mühlenpfordt devoted his interests to art, history, and philosophy, while still retaining active interests in scientific research – improvement of television and investigating methods of earthquake prediction.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
nuclear physicist. He received his doctorate from the Technische Hochschule Carolo-Wilhelmina zu Braunschweig, in 1936. He then worked in Gustav Hertz’s laboratory at Siemens
Siemens
Siemens may refer toSiemens, a German family name carried by generations of telecommunications industrialists, including:* Werner von Siemens , inventor, founder of Siemens AG...
. In 1945, he was sent to Institute G, near Sukhumi
Sukhumi
Sukhumi is the capital of Abkhazia, a disputed region on the Black Sea coast. The city suffered heavily during the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict in the early 1990s.-Naming:...
and under the directorship of Hertz, to work on the Soviet atomic bomb project
Soviet atomic bomb project
The Soviet project to develop an atomic bomb , was a clandestine research and development program began during and post-World War II, in the wake of the Soviet Union's discovery of the United States' nuclear project...
. Released from Russia, Mühlenpfordt arrived in East Germany in 1955. He was appointed director of the Institut für physikalische Stofftrennung of the Academy of Sciences, in Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
. From 1969 until his retirement in 1974, Mühlenpfordt was director of the Forschungsbereiches Kern- und Istopentechnik der Akademie.
Early years
Mühlenpfordt’s father, Carl, was an architectArchitect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
and university professor, and his mother, Anna Dräger-Mühlenpfordt, was a painter
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
and graphic designer
Graphic designer
A graphic designer is a professional within the graphic design and graphic arts industry who assembles together images, typography or motion graphics to create a piece of design. A graphic designer creates the graphics primarily for published, printed or electronic media, such as brochures and...
. Anna was the daughter of Henry Dräger, founder of Drägerwerk AG
Dräger
The Drägerwerk AG is a German company based in Lübeck which makes breathing and protection equipment, gas detection and analysis systems, and noninvasive patient monitoring technologies. Customers include hospitals, fire departments and diving companies....
. Carl was a professor at the Technische Hochschule Carolo-Wilhelmina zu Braunschweig (in the late 1960s or early 1970s, reorganized and renamed the Technische Universität Braunschweig) and a practicing architect.
Education
Mühlenpfordt received his doctorate, in 1936, from the Technische Hochschule Carolo-Wilhelmina zu Braunschweig.In Germany
In 1935, Mühlenpfordt, went to work for Gustav Hertz at SiemensSiemens
Siemens may refer toSiemens, a German family name carried by generations of telecommunications industrialists, including:* Werner von Siemens , inventor, founder of Siemens AG...
. Among other things, Mühlenpfordt’s research activities involved x-ray
X-ray
X-radiation is a form of electromagnetic radiation. X-rays have a wavelength in the range of 0.01 to 10 nanometers, corresponding to frequencies in the range 30 petahertz to 30 exahertz and energies in the range 120 eV to 120 keV. They are shorter in wavelength than UV rays and longer than gamma...
s; an x-ray tube
X-ray tube
An X-ray tube is a vacuum tube that produces X-rays. They are used in X-ray machines. X-rays are part of the electromagnetic spectrum, an ionizing radiation with wavelengths shorter than ultraviolet light...
with a cross-shaped anode
Anode
An anode is an electrode through which electric current flows into a polarized electrical device. Mnemonic: ACID ....
was named after him. Hertz conducted research activities in isotope separation
Isotope separation
Isotope separation is the process of concentrating specific isotopes of a chemical element by removing other isotopes, for example separating natural uranium into enriched uranium and depleted uranium. This is a crucial process in the manufacture of uranium fuel for nuclear power stations, and is...
, which effected Mühlenpfordt’s career interests.
In Russia
How Mühlenpfordt got to Russia and his activities there are best understood in the context of four prominent Berlin scientists. Manfred von ArdenneManfred von Ardenne
Manfred von Ardenne was a German research and applied physicist and inventor. He took out approximately 600 patents in fields including electron microscopy, medical technology, nuclear technology, plasma physics, and radio and television technology...
, director of his private laboratory Forschungslaboratoriums für Elektronenphysik, Gustav Hertz, Nobel laureate and director of Research Laboratory II at Siemens
Siemens
Siemens may refer toSiemens, a German family name carried by generations of telecommunications industrialists, including:* Werner von Siemens , inventor, founder of Siemens AG...
, Peter Adolf Thiessen
Peter Adolf Thiessen
Peter Adolf Thiessen was a German physical chemist. He voluntarily went to the Soviet Union at the close of World War II, and he received high Soviet decorations and the Stalin Prize for contributions to the Soviet atomic bomb project.-Education:Thiessen was born in Schweidnitz .From 1919 to...
, ordinarius professor at the Humboldt University of Berlin
Humboldt University of Berlin
The Humboldt University of Berlin is Berlin's oldest university, founded in 1810 as the University of Berlin by the liberal Prussian educational reformer and linguist Wilhelm von Humboldt, whose university model has strongly influenced other European and Western universities...
and director of the Kaiser-Wilhelm Institut für physikalische Chemi und Elektrochemie in Berlin-Dahlem
Dahlem (Berlin)
Dahlem is a locality of the Steglitz-Zehlendorf borough in southwestern Berlin. Until Berlin's 2001 administrative reform it was a part of the former borough of Zehlendorf. Dahlem is one of the most affluent parts of the city and home to the main campus of the Free University of Berlin with the...
, and Max Volmer
Max Volmer
Max Volmer was a German physical chemist, who made important contributions in electrochemistry, in particular on electrode kinetics. He co-developed the Butler–Volmer equation. Volmer held the chair and directorship of the Physical Chemistry and Electrochemistry Institute of the Technische...
, ordinarius professor and director of the Physical Chemistry Institute at the Berlin Technische Hochschule
Technical University of Berlin
The Technische Universität Berlin is a research university located in Berlin, Germany. Translating the name into English is discouraged by the university, however paraphrasing as Berlin Institute of Technology is recommended by the university if necessary .The TU Berlin was founded...
, had made a pact. The pact was a pledge that whoever first made contact with the Russians would speak for the rest. The objectives of their pact were threefold: (1) Prevent plunder of their institutes, (2) Continue their work with minimal interruption, and (3) Protect themselves from prosecution for any political acts of the past. Before the end of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Thiessen, a member of the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei, had Communist contacts. On 27 April 1945, Thiessen arrived at von Ardenne’s institute in an armored vehicle with a major of the Soviet Army, who was also a leading Soviet chemist. All four of the pact members were taken to the Soviet Union along with colleagues from their institutes. Hertz was made head of Institute G, in Agudseri (Agudzery), about 10 km southeast of Sukhumi
Sukhumi
Sukhumi is the capital of Abkhazia, a disputed region on the Black Sea coast. The city suffered heavily during the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict in the early 1990s.-Naming:...
and a suburb of Gul’rips (Gulrip’shi). Topics assigned to Gustav Hertz’s Institute G included: (1) Separation of isotopes by diffusion in a flow of inert gases, for which Gustav Hertz was the leader, (2) Development of a condensation pump, for which Justus Mühlenpfordt was the leader, (3) Design and build a mass spectrometer for determining the isotopic composition of uranium, for which Werner Schütze was the leader, (4) Development of frameless (ceramic) diffusion partitions for filters, for which Reinhold Reichmann was the leader, and (5) Development of a theory of stability and control of a diffusion cascade, for which Heinz Barwich
Heinz Barwich
Heinz Barwich was a German nuclear physicist. He was deputy director of the Siemens Research Laboratory II in Berlin. At the close of World War II, he went to the Soviet Union for ten years to work on the Soviet atomic bomb project, for which he received a Stalin Prize...
was the leader; Barwich had been deputy to Hertz at Siemens. Other members of Institute G were Werner Hartmann
Werner Hartmann (physicist)
Werner Hartmann was a German physicist who introduced microelectronics into East Germany. He studied physics at the Technische Hochschule Berlin and worked at Siemens before joining Fernseh GmbH...
, Werner Schütze and Karl-Franz Zühlke. Von Ardenne was made head of Institute A, in Sinop, a suburb of Sukhumi
Sukhumi
Sukhumi is the capital of Abkhazia, a disputed region on the Black Sea coast. The city suffered heavily during the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict in the early 1990s.-Naming:...
. Volmer went to the Nauchno-Issledovatel’skij Institut-9 (NII-9, Scientific Research Institute No. 9), in Moscow; he was given a design bureau to work on the production of heavy water
Heavy water
Heavy water is water highly enriched in the hydrogen isotope deuterium; e.g., heavy water used in CANDU reactors is 99.75% enriched by hydrogen atom-fraction...
. In Institute A, Thiessen became leader for developing techniques for manufacturing porous barriers for isotope separation.
After Mühlenpfordt’s successful work at Institute G, he became chief of a design bureau in Leningrad, no earlier than 1950.
In preparation for release from the Soviet Union, it was standard practice to put personnel into quarantine for a few years if they worked on projects related to the Soviet atomic bomb project. Mühlenpfordt spent his quarantine at a facility in Agudzery (Agudseri), as did other German scientists. Additionally, in 1954, in preparation sending the German scientists to the Deutsche Demokratische Republik (DDR, German Democratic Republic), the DDR and the Soviet Union prepared a list of scientists they wished to keep in the DDR, due to their having worked on projects related to the Soviet atomic bomb project; this list was known as the “A-list”. On this A-list were the names of 18 scientists; nine, possibly 10, of the names were associated with the Nikolaus Riehl
Nikolaus Riehl
Nikolaus Riehl was a German industrial nuclear chemist. He was head of the scientific headquarters of Auergesellschaft. When the Russians entered Berlin near the end of World War II, he was invited to the Soviet Union, where he stayed for 10 years...
group which worked at Plant No. 12 in Ehlektrostal'
Elektrostal
Elektrostal , known as Zatishye until 1938, is a city in Moscow Oblast, Russia, located east of Moscow. Population: 135,000 ; 123,000 ; 97,000 ; 43,000 . Town status was granted to it in 1938.-Industry:...
(Электросталь). Mühlenpfordt was on the list.
Back in Germany
Mühlenpfordt arrived in the DDR in 1955. He was appointed director of the Institut für physikalische Stofftrennung of the Academy of Sciences, in LeipzigLeipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
; in 1964, the institute was renamed the Institut für stabile Isotope (Institute for Stable Isotopes). In 1960, he was also appointed a professor of the Academy of Sciences. In 1968, he was additionally appointed Beauftragter (Representative) of the Academy of Sciences.
From 1969 until his retirement in 1974, Mühlenpfordt was director of the Forschungsbereiches Kern- und Istopentechnik der Akademie der Wissenschaften (Research Division for Nuclear and Isotope Technology of the Academy of Sciences); the organization was later renamed the Forschungsbereich Kernwissenschaften der Akademie der Wissenschaften (Nuclear Science Research Division of the Academy of Sciences), and still later renamed the Forschungsbereich Physik der Akademie der Wissenschaften (Physics Research Division of the Academy of Sciences).
Upon his retirement, Mühlenpfordt devoted his interests to art, history, and philosophy, while still retaining active interests in scientific research – improvement of television and investigating methods of earthquake prediction.
Professional Honors & Memberships
- Corresponding Member of the Akademie der Wissenschaften (Academy of Sciences) since 1969
- Member of the Leibniz-Sozietät der Wissenschaften zu Berlin e.V.
- Nationalpreis der Deutsche Demokratische Republik in 1961
Literature
- Justus Mühlenpfordt The Importance of Stable Isotopes [In German], Kernenergie Volume 3, 816-822 (1960). Institutional affiliation: Institut für physikalische Stofftrennung, Leipzig.
- Justus Mühlenpfordt Obtention, Application, and Analysis of Stable Isotopes in the German Democratic Republic [In German], Kernenergie Volume 5, 208-211 (1962). Institutional affiliation: Institut für Physikalische Stofftrennung, Leipzig.
- Justus Mühlenpfordt The Institute of Stable Isotopes at Leipzig [In German], Isotopenpraxis Volume 2, 113-116 (1966)
- Justus Mühlenpfordt Refinement of Industrial Products by Substituting Hydrogen by Deuterium. Part I. [In German], Isotopenpraxis Volume 2, 119-121 (1966). Institutional affiliation: Institut für Stabile Isotope, Leipzig Deutschen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Berlin.
Books
- Justus Mühlenpfordt Untersuchung über die Möglichkeit, auf photoelektrischem Wege die Messempfindlichkeit des Interferentialrefraltors nach Jamin zu Erhöhen, Doctoral Dissertation Thesis (Technische Hochschule Carolo-Wilhelmina zu Braunschweig, 1937)
- Aleksandr I. Brodskij and Justus Mühlenpfordt Isotopenchemie (Akademie-Verl., 1961)
External links
- Leibniz Society – Obituary Justus Mühlenpfordt